Maps, Maps and more Maps…

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Tolrendordm

When I wrote my two-part review of the Northlands Worldbook, I mentioned that I intend to use the companion Northlands Sagas as my first full Tales of the Valiant campaign in the World of Tolrendor.

That decision, of course, immediately raises the obvious question:

How do I integrate the Northlands into an existing homebrew world without it feeling bolted-on?

For me, the answer always starts in the same place:

The Map

Before politics, before cultures, before gods and sagas and dragon-haunted jarldoms…

…I need geography:

  • Coastlines
  • Mountain ranges
  • Trade routes
  • Natural barriers

Places where stories want to happen.

And for that, I always end up returning to my old faithful:

Campaign Cartographer

I’ve been using Campaign Cartographer in one form or another for decades now, and despite the explosion of modern mapping tools over the last few years, I still think it remains one of the most versatile and powerful RPG cartography applications ever made.

It has never really been the easiest tool. But it’s one of the deepest.

And once you know how to drive it, it can produce maps with an astonishing amount of personality and flexibility.

What has always elevated it beyond “just a mapping application” for me, though, is the incredible longevity and creativity of the Cartographer’s Annual series.

Back in 2011, I wrote about RPG mapping and the Annual series on the old Tolrendor blog. At that point the Annual had been running for four years.

Four.

It has now somehow been running for twenty years.

That’s an absurd amount of content.

And remarkably, the quality and variety really hasn’t dropped off.

Every year brings new mapping styles, symbol collections, techniques, tools, templates, and ideas. Some are niche. Some are experimental. Some become instant classics.

But the result is that over time Campaign Cartographer has become less a single mapping style and more a library of fantasy cartography styles and traditions.

And that became important the moment I started planning my Tolrendor equivalent of the Northlands.

Finding the Right Style

The Northlands Worldbook map — illustrated by Sean MacDonald — clearly evokes the visual DNA of the original Midgard Campaign Setting maps created by Jon Roberts.

That sweeping coastline-heavy aesthetic.

The muted natural palette.

The layered mountain ridges.

The sense that the landmass itself tells stories.

Campaign Cartographer has supported Jon Roberts-inspired styles for years, so the obvious first instinct was:

Jon Roberts Revisited (October 2022)

And honestly?

It still looks fantastic.

But…

I’ve mapped in that style quite a lot over the years, though, and part of me wants the Tolrendor Northlands to feel like a new creative chapter: inspired by Midgard’s mythic northern atmosphere, but not visually beholden to it.

So I started exploring alternatives from recent Annuals.

Ancient Realms Revisited (January 2025)

This one immediately grabbed me.

It has a slightly older-school fantasy atlas feel, but still enough texture and terrain detail to support a serious campaign setting.

There’s something about the coastlines and mountain rendering that feels particularly suitable for sagas, kingdoms, and mythic journeys.

It’s also designed for mapping large continental areas, which the Northlands definitely will be.

Hand-Drawn Fantasy (May/June 2025)

This style has enormous charm.

It feels personal.

Almost journal-like.

I could see this working brilliantly for regional or in-world maps — perhaps something produced by a skald, explorer, or merchant guild within Tolrendor itself.

I’m less convinced it works as the primary Northlands campaign map, but I absolutely want to use elements of this style somewhere.

Parchment Worlds (February 2024)

This one leans harder into the classic parchment aesthetic.

Very evocative.

Very “campaign setting sourcebook.”

Potentially excellent for world-scale mapping — particularly if I decide to finally redraw the wider Tolrendor world properly.

Why This Matters More Than People Think

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that maps quietly shape campaigns far more than most people realise.

A good map creates narrative gravity.

Players begin asking questions naturally:

  • What’s beyond those mountains?
  • Who controls those islands?
  • Why are all the settlements clustered around that bay?
  • What happened in the frozen north?

And for adventures in the Northlands, where travel, culture, myth, and isolation matter enormously, the map becomes part of the storytelling engine.

That means I need the Tolrendor equivalent to feel like it has always existed.

Not “here is Viking Land pasted awkwardly onto the side of the continent.”

It needs to breathe naturally inside the world.

So… Which One?

Right now, I’m leaning toward Ancient Realms Revisited as the foundation style.

It feels like the best balance between:

  • mythic atmosphere
  • readability
  • large-scale geography
  • a cool palette that I think will suit the wind-swept, mountainous wilderness of the Northlands

…but what do you think?

And honestly, simply browsing twenty years of Cartographer’s Annual styles has completely reignited my enthusiasm for fantasy mapping…

The mapping juices are flowing.

Now I just need to decide where the fjords go — and which forgotten kingdoms once ruled them.

Posted in Cartography, Kobold Press, Tales of the Valiant, World Building | Leave a comment

Tales from the Tavern — Into the Fire

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Tolrendordm

There’s something gloriously energising about organised play when the table composition is randomly thrown together.

Tales from the Taverns Logo

This week at RPG Taverns we ended up with:

  • Two 6th-level characters
  • One 4th-level sorcerer (Tarin, my character)
  • And four 1st-level adventurers who we hoped would not become immediate tragedies! (It’s part of the culture at RPG Taverns that the table looks after the 1st-level characters.)

Naturally, it turned into a highly entertaining session.

This was my first Thursday session rather than the usual Friday/weekend crowd. Noticeably quieter — but still with the same relaxed atmosphere. Thanks to train chaos on my line, I arrived late, messaged the venue on the way, and was simply pointed towards the Dockside table when I arrived. No fuss. Very easy-going.

Our DM for the evening was Luke — the first time I’d played at one of his tables — and he ran a great session with exactly the right mix of flavour, pressure, and humour.

Back Into Aurelium

The new chapter has begun, and all the tables were exploring the Hallowed Halls in pre-cataclysmic Aurelium. It was a religious festival, and many temples had trials and ceremonies underway.

Our particular goal revolved around the Temple of the Fire God — apparently we were to take part in a series of challenges posed by his clergy.

The party itself was wonderfully mismatched:

  • A 6th-level cleric
  • A 6th-level paladin complete with summoned steed
  • Tarin, my character —jaded and cynical 4th-level tiefling sorcerer
  • A 1st-level tiefling warlock
  • A 1st-level high-elf wizard
  • A 1st-level halfling rogue
  • A 1st-level human ranger

Somehow, against all probability, nobody died.

Though a few flirted with it…

Trial One — The Offering

The entrance to the temple required an offering to the Fire God.

This produced one of those excellent roleplaying moments where mechanics completely step aside in favour of character.

Tarin, unsurprisingly, has very little interest in the gods.

Not because he doubts they exist — in a fantasy world with clerics, miracles, and divine magic everywhere, atheism feels somewhat difficult to maintain — but because he simply does not regard them as worthy of reverence.

Growing up in the slums of Harford City taught him that faith rarely arrived when it was actually needed.

So when asked for an offering?

He produced a flask of oil.

“Fuel for the fire.”

Slightly cheeky. Slightly irreverent.

The flames roared upward violently in response, and while he could have recoiled instinctively, Tarin simply stood there and stared into them without moving. (He’s a tiefling draconic sorcerer —what’s a bit flame between friends!)

Which, apparently, the god respected.

Not devotion.

Not worship.

Resilience.

Stubbornness.

The refusal to flinch.

One of my favourite Tarin moments so far.

Trial Two — Jump Into The Lava

The second trial was considerably more direct.

The way forward required us to leap into a pit of fire. Tarin did take the precaution of casting False Life before hurling himself into the flames.

In what is rapidly becoming a tradition, Tarin immediately failed his Constitution save and suffered a level of exhaustion.

Still — he did make the second save which avoided any actual damage, which frankly counts as a major victory in Tarin’s world.

Trial Three — The Hall of Lamps

The final chamber was the standout encounter of the night.

A vast, shadow-filled hall populated by necrotic creatures — wights and ghouls emerging from the darkness while the party landed in scattered positions after falling from the fire pit.

Tarin ended up isolated with one of the wights immediately in his face.

Thankfully because of the earlier False Life casting, the opening hit mostly stripped temporary hit points rather than immediately leaving Tarin in a dangerous state.

I triggered Innate Sorcery and followed up with Burning Hands.

I’ve realised I increasingly enjoy spells that force the DM to roll saves instead of me rolling attacks. This may reflect a growing awareness of my dice luck.

Meanwhile, the paladin hurled javelins of lightning across the hall, while the 1st-level ranger somehow managed to get Hunter’s Mark onto my wight and pile damage onto the same target.

By the end of the first round, the wight was already bloodied.

Meanwhile several of the level 1s discovered the exciting educational experience known as “fighting undead far above your pay grade” and got hit hard.

Fortunately, the 6th-level cleric was an absolute hero all evening and kept dragging people back into the fight.

Then came the moment of collective revelation.

The encounter was called The Trial of the Lamplighters.

At roughly the same time, the entire table suddenly realised:

“Oh… maybe we’re supposed to light the giant lamps.”

Classic adventurer behaviour.

Once we finally embraced the objective rather than simply committing aggressive violence, things shifted quickly.

Tarin survived another attack thanks to a miss plus Shield, blasted the wight apart with Thunderwave, then used Quickened Spell to cast Fire Bolt one of the ghouls threatening the 1st-level warlock.

That ended up being his final action of the encounter because, by the end of the round the last lamps were lit — and the shadow creatures were utterly destroyed.

Final Thoughts

A genuinely excellent session.

Good pacing. Good atmosphere. A strong mix of roleplay and combat. Enough danger to make the low-level characters sweat without it becoming miserable.

And honestly, organised play continues to surprise me with how much emergent character development it creates.

Tarin is gradually becoming somebody far more defined through play than through backstory notes — cynical, stubborn, sometimes reckless, and somehow oddly resilient.

Loving it.

Posted in 5E D&D, Characters, RPG Taverns, Tales from the Tavern | Leave a comment

Northlands — Playable Flavour Done Right

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Tolrendordm

Following on from my first post looking at the setting and flavour of Northlands…

If my first post on the Northlands was about inspiration, this one is about something more important:

What the setting actually brings to the table.

And this is where Northlands really stands out.

Because this isn’t just flavour.

It’s playable flavour.

Why This Matters

Players tend to ignore setting flavour unless it:

  • Gives them a mechanical edge
  • Influences their decisions
  • Or rewards engagement

Northlands clearly understands this.

Almost all the setting flavour is reinforced by mechanics that push it into play.

Heroes of the Sagas — Subclasses That Fit

Chapter 4 introduces a range of new subclasses, and they immediately do something right:

You can tell what they bring just from the name.

  • Titan (Barbarian)
  • Skald (Bard)
  • Nornbound (Cleric)
  • Circle of Fenris (Druid)
  • Viking (Fighter)
  • Oath of Valhalla (Paladin)
  • Spirit Caller (Sorcerer)
  • Trickster (Warlock)
Image © Kobold Press for review purposes only

(Image © Kobold Press, for review purposes)

I’m sure you could’ve named the base class without any prompting, right?

They’re unapologetically tied to the setting—and that’s exactly what you want here.

Meaningful class choices that ooze Northlands.

Just one example:

Viking Weapons 3rd-Level Viking Feature When you are wielding a battleaxe, longsword, or spear, once on each of your turns, you can add your PB to a damage roll with one of those weapons.

(Northlands Worldbook, © Kobold Press, p.110)

Subclasses remain, in my view, one of the secret sauces of 5E and Tales of the Valiant. They add strong flavour without rewriting the base class, and bring meaningful additions through class progression.

This is what I mean by playable flavour—mechanics that carry the tone of the setting into actual play.

Character Options That Anchor You in the World

It doesn’t stop at subclasses. Northlands layers in multiple ways to immerse characters in the setting:

  • Lineages: Variants to the familiar lineages (e.g. fjord dwarf, ice elf), as well as new Northlands-specific ones (e.g. giant-kin, trollkin, bearfolk, etc.).
  • Backgrounds: Dancing Bear Guide, Doomed, Seafarer, Ice Nomad. These do exactly what backgrounds should do—give your character a past that matters in this setting.
  • Talents: Are TotV’s version of 5E Feats, and are tied into Backgrounds, and level progression (you can choose to take a Talent as part of the Improvement feature on the class progression table). They’re a great way to add flavour with mechanical impact, and because they often have pre-requisites, they encourage players to think through setting-specific choices that build over time. Many of the talents here directly tie to the Gods of the setting (e.g. Blessing of Loki, which – of course – gives benefits to Deception, and bonus illusion cantrips and spells), or are themed to the Northlands environment (e.g. A martial Talent Giant-Slayer which gives you abilities when fighting Large creatures).

Character Threads — A Standout Idea

Northlands goes even further and introduces an entire new story mechanic concept:

Character Threads.

Less about what your character did before becoming an adventurer and more about what your character does in the “background” while they are adventuring.

(Northlands Worldbook, © Kobold Press, p.128)

In practice, this means players work with their DM to define the goal, the milestones, and the benefits attached to each milestone. Each milestone is ranked based on the character levels it is intended to be reached at, and of course the benefits are level appropriate.

This gives the player an incentive to interact with the setting outside the main plot.

As well as the basic mechanics, a number of Northlands aligned ‘threads’ are described, making it simple to bring this into your campaign—or alternatively, more specific personalised threads can be created collaboratively.

Frankly, this feels like something that could—and probably should—become standard in the Tales of the Valiant ruleset.

Magic, Gear, and Viking Fantasy

Chapter 5 – Magic and Miscellany continues with Northlands themed equipment and magic items, e.g.:

  • Longships: If I was a Northlands character, I’d want a longship! 5 different types are included, giving the characters a range of options to suit their level and adventures.
  • Spells: Kobold Press has a long history of publishing new spells for the game (Tome of Magic etc.) and this is no different. There are almost 150 new spells across the 4 magic sources, all Northlands themed.

Where It All Comes Together — Running the Campaign

Chapter 7 – takes the mechanical design to another level. This chapter presents a veritable smorgasbord of mechanics designed to bring the setting to life at the table—not just on the page:

  • Reputation: an entire reputation tracking system, with the benefit (once per level only) of being able to control the game narrative in certain circumstances. More prosaically, a significant reputation can reduce living costs. This incentivises players to act like saga heroes, and conversely, bad deeds cause complications.
  • Dueling (Holmganga): Major slights on your honour must be settled by ritual combat, of course! Simple idea, great at the table.
  • Flyting: Bring combat by insult to your table! What’s not to like!
  • Prophecies and Omens: This is pure Norse myth translated into gameplay:
    • Seek the seer
    • Gain glimpses of fate
    • Interpret meaning
  • Ships, Sea Combat and Raiding: It wouldn’t be a Viking-inspired setting if there wasn’t the opportunity to crew the longships and go a-reaving! This section presents:
    • Ship rules
    • Sea encounters
    • Abstracted raiding systems
    Not overly complex — but enough to support the fantasy.
  • Weather: Finally, optional rules are given to translate the bleak and harsh setting into weather difficulties to throw at your players.

This is playable flavour at its strongest—mechanics that ensure the setting isn’t just described, but actively played.

Northlands Bestiary — Finishing the Job

Finally, Chapter 8 rounds out the setting with 30+ new monsters for the DM to throw at his Northlands heroes.

This covers the standard foes you would expect, such as an abundance of Giant and Troll options, but also a number of lesser known options inspired by Norse mythology, such as Fenrikyn, Gamr and Grendelkyn.

There are also plenty of stat blocks for Northlands Mounts and NPCs.

Final Thoughts — Great Design!

If I had to summarise the mechanical design of Northlands in one sentence:

It forces the setting to show up at the table.

Everything here:

  • Encourages behaviour
  • Rewards engagement
  • Reinforces tone

This is playable flavour done right.

Nothing here feels like it’s just there for the DM to read.

For Tolrendor…

This is where it gets interesting:

If the flavour of the Northlands in the previous post inspired me to use the setting…

The mechanics described here leave me thinking: how soon can I start my campaign?

Stay tuned for subsequent musings on:

  • The Northlands Sagas — the companion adventure path to the Worldbook that I’m definitely planning to run soon!
  • Northlands World-building – follow along as I weave the Northlands into the World of Tolrendor

No matter how far you roam across glaciers, snowfields, or among ice-choked seas, there is always more to discover. The Northlands cry out for heroes with a sharp blade, a strong voice, a steady heart, or a hand raising a rune‑marked stone in defiance of fate. So gather your warband, ready your longship, and call upon your shield-maidens and reavers. Step into the sagas and marvels of the Northlands and see what glories await you.

(Northlands Worldbook, © Kobold Press, p.6)

Posted in 5E D&D, Columns, Kobold Press, Product Reviews, Tales of the Valiant, Tales of the Valiant RPG, World Building | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Northlands has Landed …

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Tolrendordm

And it might be exactly what I’ve been waiting for…

There are Kickstarters you back on a whim… and then there are the ones you quietly (and impatiently..) wait for because you know they’re going to shape your next campaign.

Northlands for Tales of the Valiant (PDF version) sits firmly in the latter camp.

Having now dug into both the Northlands Worldbook and its companion volume of adventures, Northlands Sagas, I’m increasingly convinced that this is going to form the backbone – or perhaps more accurately, the overlay – for my first proper Tales of the Valiant campaign in Tolrendor.

The “Campaign Overlay” Concept – Genius!

What resonates most strongly with me is that Northlands isn’t just a standard setting supplement — it’s positioned as a campaign overlay.

And that distinction matters.

It means it’s deliberately designed to be flexible:

  • Drop it wholesale into a homebrew world
  • Use it as a northern region in any setting
  • Layer it over an existing setting
  • Or even treat it as a mythic parallel land

For Tolrendor, this is gold.

I love Midgard as inspiration, but I’m firmly homebrew when it comes to my own world. I want to adapt, not adopt.

Northlands gets that balance exactly right.

First Impressions — Strong, Immediate, Evocative

The opening chapter does something I’ve come to really appreciate in Tales of the Valiant material:

It gets to the point fast.

The “Seven Secrets of the Northlands” immediately establish:

  • Honour and reputation
  • Reaving culture
  • The role of the gods
  • Harsh environment
  • Giants, runes, and sagas

In little more than a page, we are grounded in the setting and eager for more. That’s excellent design.

The rest of the chapter builds on this:

  • Daily life
  • People and culture
  • Festivals
  • An historical timeline

It’s rich, evocative, and highly readable. There is little in the way of mechanics here, it’s full-on flavour, although there are references to later sections of the book that bring mechanics to the table where relevant.

A Small Tension — History vs Overlay

There is, however, one point where I found myself hesitating.

The timeline is detailed — and very good.

But for an overlay, it may be too specific.

For Tolrendor, I’ll almost certainly need to reshape this to bring it cleanly into Tolrendor.

Because while history adds depth… too much specificity reduces flexibility.

That said — it’s still excellent source material.

Regions and Factions — Exactly the Right Level of Detail

The regional breakdown (Chapter 2) is classic Kobold Press:

  • Strong flavour
  • Memorable identities
  • Just enough detail

Bear-folk kingdoms, bardic islands, giant territories — all immediately usable.

Yes, the detailed (and gorgeous) maps do “fix” a setting somewhat — but in practice, this is material to harvest, not obey.

I’ll definitely redraw the map for Tolrendor, but I’ll absolutely use:

  • The structure
  • The ideas
  • The cultural hooks

Factions (Chapter 3), in particular, are a highlight:

  • Cults of Ragnarok
  • Giant-aligned forces
  • Guilds of Wanderers, hunters, and guides

These are incredibly easy to port — and immediately useful at the table.

The Gods — The One Real Design Trade-Off

You can’t do a Norse-inspired setting without gods.

And Kobold Press leans fully into that:

  • Wotan, Loki, Thor etc.,
  • The Norns
  • Primordial Giants

This is a comprehensive chapter covering background, worshippers, symbols and books, shrines and priests. It’s authentic, and reinforces the setting.

But for a homebrew world like Tolrendor… this is where things get complicated.

I don’t tend to use direct real-world mythological imports.

The gods matter too much to ignore for this setting. So the question becomes:

  • Do I make an exception?
  • Replace them?
  • Or reinterpret them entirely?

Changing them would represent a significant amount of work. For example, there are many talents, abilities and spells directly tied to the gods that would need re-work.

That’s probably the single biggest design trade-off in the book: the gods are both a strength of the setting and the hardest thing to adapt cleanly into a homebrew world.

Final Thoughts (For Now…)

Overall, this is a supplement that understands what Dungeon Masters need:

  • Structure, not constraint
  • Inspiration, not prescription
  • Portable lore

Northlands doesn’t demand you use it.

It invites you to adapt it.

And for a Tolrendor campaign?

That’s exactly what I was hoping for.

(Next post: I’ll be diving into the mechanics — and why this might be one of the best “playable flavour” supplements I’ve seen in a long time.)

Posted in Columns, Kobold Press, Product Reviews, Tales of the Valiant, Tales of the Valiant RPG, World Building | 6 Comments

When the Past Bites Back

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Tolrendordm
  • Tales from the Taverns Logo
Tales from the Taverns Logo

There’s a particular rhythm to returning to RPG Taverns. You step back through the door, dice in hand, and the world has moved on without you—but somehow still feels familiar. This session was exactly that: a re-entry into Aranoa, with the party already entangled in events far beyond my last visit. No laborious recap, no continuity anxiety—just a quick orientation and straight back into the fray.

And that, frankly, is one of the great strengths of RPG Taverns.

We found ourselves once again in pre-Cataclysmic Aurelium—always a fascinating temporal playground—and quickly assembled into what can only be described as an eclectic and somewhat fragile party composition. Plenty of arcane firepower, but not much in the way of a front line. The kind of group where positioning, spell choice, and sheer nerve matter far more than raw durability.

The Shape of the Table

The party dynamic was interesting from the outset. A mix of tieflings (including Tarin), a drow with conflicting allegiances, a goblin warlock, and others—hardly a group that naturally trusts either each other or the world around them.

That tension came to the fore when we met Glorya at the Echo Tree.

Now, the Echo Tree itself—vast, alien, and undeniably present—was one of those classic Taverns set-pieces: evocative, mysterious, and clearly important without being over-explained. Glorya, meanwhile, was positioned as a benign druidic guide… but not everyone at the table bought into that framing.

Notably, the halfling and goblin players leaned hard into suspicion, based I believe on a previous session, but not knowledge I was party to. There was a palpable undercurrent of “this is not as it seems,” which Tarin—fresh from his quiet refuge in Noa’s Rest—was ill-prepared to interpret. It created a subtle but effective friction: do we trust the NPC?

Naturally, we all agreed to touch the strange, magical tree.

Because of course we did….

When “Communing” Goes Sideways

The moment the entire party engaged with the Echo Tree, the tone shifted …

The glade twisted into something darker, angrier. What had been a place of verdant calm became a psychological battleground, with each character confronted by their own past. This is where the session really sang: through player-driven narrative.

Tarin’s moment was particularly sharp, the first time his background had really been called into play. The memory of his childhood in the slums—being bullied, hunted, and ultimately cast out after his powers first manifested lethally—surfaced in full force. It wasn’t just flavour; it informed play. His reactions, his hesitation, even his spell choices all stemmed from that emotional grounding.

And then, of course, came the monsters.

Shadowy dream-creatures—very much in the mould of Dementors—manifested as embodiments of those memories. Mechanically, they were punishing. Psychically damaging, resistant to certain damage types, and capable of locking characters in place if they failed Wisdom saves.

That last point became crucial.

Lessons Learned (The Hard Way)

There’s always a moment in a session where you realise—too late—that you’ve been playing sub-optimally.

For Tarin, this was it.

Leaning heavily into fire-based spells (a thematic choice, but not always a practical one), I found myself largely ineffective against the creatures. The fallback—Chromatic Orb—kept me in the fight, but at a cost: losing the advantage from Innate Sorcery due to ranged casting in close quarters.

Meanwhile, more effective options—Dragon’s Breath, Thunderwave—sat unused. A classic case of “know your spellbook better.”

Compounding this, repeated failed Wisdom saves left Tarin effectively grappled by the dreamscape itself. Immobilised, battered by psychic damage, and forced into a grim war of attrition against his own past.

Dreamscape in the GossamerRoot
Dreamscape in the GossamerRoot (AI generated image)

Most rounds left him bloodied. Survival became less about clever tactics and more about resource management—healing potions, well-timed support from Glorya, and just enough luck to stay upright.

It was messy. It was tense. It was exactly what you want from this kind of encounter.

After the Storm

Eventually, Glorya managed to pull us free from the dreamscape, returning us to the real glade.

The relief at the table was palpable—but so too was the aftertaste.

For Tarin, this wasn’t just “another fight.” It was a forced confrontation with memories he would very much prefer to leave buried. Mechanically challenging, yes—but more importantly, narratively impactful.

And that’s the quiet brilliance of sessions like this. They don’t just advance the plot—they deepen the characters.

Final Thoughts

This was a session that leaned heavily into experience over outcome. We didn’t uncover vast new lore or decisively shift the campaign’s trajectory—but we felt the world more keenly.

  • The drop-in nature of RPG Taverns worked seamlessly again.
  • The party’s lack of traditional balance created genuine tension.
  • The Echo Tree encounter blended narrative and mechanics in a way that elevated both.

As for Tarin?

He’ll be giving ancient, sentient trees a very wide berth for the foreseeable future. There are, after all, plenty of other adventures around Aurelium… and not all of them involve being hunted by your own memories.

Oh, and he’s Team Glorya – he wouldn’t be still here otherwise!

Posted in 5E D&D, Characters, Columns, RPG Taverns, Tales from the Tavern | Leave a comment

Tarin Nerweller — Fire from the Gutter

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Tolrendordm

In my last post, Rolling Dice in a Real Tavern, I mentioned that I’d properly introduce the character I’ve been bringing with me to RPG Taverns — and it’s overdue to make good on that promise.

This is Tarin Nerweller: my first ever D&D 5E character, and the one through whom I’m rediscovering what it’s like to sit on the player side of the table again.

Tarin is currently in play at RPG Taverns, and while the venue may be convivial and welcoming, the character himself very much isn’t — at least, not at first glance.

The Basics

  • Species: Tiefling
  • Class: Sorcerer
  • Level: 3
  • Subclass: Draconic Sorcery
  • Background: Wayfarer

Mechanically, Tarin is a relatively straightforward low-level sorcerer, intended to let me get to grips with 5E play without too much cognitive overhead. Narratively, though, he’s becoming more interesting the more I play with him and start to learn about and interact with the setting.

A Life in the Gutter

Tarin hails not from Tolrendor, but from Aeon, the shared world setting used by RPG Taverns.

He was born in the slums of Harford City, growing up amid the narrow alleys and refuse-choked lanes of the Restwater Estate. A tiefling child with no family name worth keeping, or indeed family once he was abandoned on the streets, he survived by begging, stealing, and learning when to disappear. The Wayfarer background isn’t an affectation — it’s a survival trait burned into him young.

The magic came early. Too early.

It began as accidents — heat blooming in his palms, sparks leaping when fear took him, shadows twitching when he was angry. On the streets, latent power without control is just another way to die. Tarin was already marked as an outcast by his horns and vestigial wings; random bursts of sorcery only made him more noticeable, more dangerous to keep around.

He might have become a rogue, had circumstances allowed. Or he might simply have been killed.

Instead, fate intervened in the form of a dragonborn sorcerer — a vagabond who recognised the signs because he had lived them. This mentor didn’t teach Tarin spells or theory. He taught restraint. How to breathe through the surge. How to listen to the magic instead of fighting it. When the dragonborn moved on, Tarin was left with the same power — but quieter now, coiled and waiting.

When the chance came, Tarin was urged to leave Harford City behind and make the journey to Noa’s Rest. Not just to escape his past, but to decide what kind of fire he intended to become.

A Crooked, Watchful Figure

Tarin cuts a striking but uncomfortable figure. He is unkempt and under-nourished, his frame lean to the point of brittleness. Small horns push through his dark hair, stunted rather than proud, while vestigial wing stubs hunch his shoulders and lend him a perpetually guarded posture. His skin is pale and wan, marred in places by faint draconic scaling — an almost embarrassing side effect of his sorcery that he keeps hidden where he can.

There’s something in his eyes that never quite rests. He watches first, speaks second, trusts last.

Personality Traits

  • Quiet, observant, slow to volunteer opinions
  • Keeps emotional distance until trust is earned

Ideals

  • Control is survival
  • Power should be used deliberately — or not at all

Bonds

  • Owes his life, in some sense, to the dragonborn who taught him restraint
  • Feels an unspoken obligation to protect others from uncontrolled magic

Flaws

  • Reluctant to rely on others
  • Carries deep-seated shame about his origins and his appearance

The Colour of His Magic

Tarin’s sorcery doesn’t manifest cleanly or heroically.

His magic leaks into the world as vapourous, glowing light, a sickly sewer-green hue that coils and hisses like steam escaping cracked stone. It smells faintly acrid, like wet ash and old copper — a reminder that this power was forged in gutters, not towers.

At the table, that flavour has already started to matter.

  • Innate Sorcery: When Tarin draws on his bloodline, the air around him fogs with greenish vapour, scales along his arms faintly glowing as the magic pushes close to the surface.
  • Fire Bolt: A snap of the fingers, and a lance of gutter-green flame spits forth, leaving scorch marks like chemical burns rather than clean fire.
  • Chromatic Orb: The spell forms as a roiling, unstable sphere of sickly hue — its colour never quite settling until the moment it’s hurled.
  • Scorching Ray: Multiple thin beams of acrid green fire tear free, like cracks in a furnace door briefly thrown open.
  • Hellish Rebuke: Less a spell than a reflex — the magic erupts around the target in a spiteful, back-alley flash of heat and bile-green flame.

None of it looks safe. All of it feels earned.

More to come…

This won’t be the last time Tarin appears here.

I’m going to start an occasional column following his adventures — small vignettes and reflections drawn from actual play at RPG Taverns, exploring how the character grows session by session.

I also plan to rebuild Tarin using the Tales of the Valiant RPG, recreating him under the variant ruleset and talking through what changes, what doesn’t, and how the the two systems feel when applied the same character. Same gutter-born Sorcerer, different Fire!

That I suspect will tell us far more than a simple rules comparison would.

Posted in 5E D&D, Characters, Characters, RPG Taverns, Tales of the Valiant RPG | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rolling Dice in a Real Tavern

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Tolrendordm
RPG-Taverns-Logo(landscape)-Green.png

Playing D&D 5E at RPG Taverns

It’s a strange thing to realise you’ve spent years building worlds, doing prep, running adventures … without actually sitting on the other side of the table.

And yet here I am — three sessions deep at RPG Taverns in London — properly playing Dungeons & Dragons again for the first time in a very long time.

Back in the Chair (But Not the Big One)

Most people who’ve followed this blog for a while will know I’m usually behind the screen. Particularly as for the past 10+ years, I’ve only played D&D with my (then…) kids, so I was always the DM.

What I don’t do is just… show up with a character and roll dice.

RPG Taverns changed that.

Based in South London – Elephant & Castle, RPG Taverns is a venue for live, in-person tabletop roleplaying. You book your seat, join a table, and play a complete session of D&D with a professional GM and a group of fellow adventurers — no prep required.

Why RPG Taverns is a hit for me…

  • You don’t need to bring books.
  • You don’t need to know the rules (well, some knowledge certainly helps, but beginners are certainly made welcome!)
  • You don’t even need a character – the first time you go, you book a character building session, and are walked through setting up a character in the D&D Beyond App.

Everything is provided — dice, minis, digital maps, and a confident, friendly GM who knows how to read the table, keep things moving, and make sure everyone has a chance to shine. Sessions run around 2-3/4 hours, which is long enough for a satisfying session, but short enough to fit into a comfortable evening out.

The venue itself is set-up for a great experience. Each group has its own themed room, there’s online service from the bar, and the table soon settles into the hum of role-playing — bursts of laughter, tense combat moments, and the occasional collective groan when the dice betray someone spectacularly. The session passes quickly!

Feywild1.jpeg
The Feywild Room – RPG Taverns

Even better, although you’re playing a one-off session, RPG Taverns operates its games in a shared world, with a campaign theme running over multiple sessions. However if you can’t go every week, no issue at all, you can keep up with overall events on the Discord server, and simply drop into the next adventure whenever you can.

This is perfect for me – I travel a lot with work, so can’t commit regular sessions. The blend of a long-lived story (that I didn’t have to create!) and no commitment stress is magic – although my 3 sessions have been spread out of 2+ months, and haven’t had any continuity so far, so I’m looking forward to digging into that a little more in coming sessions …

Playing 5E (Finally)

I’ve read 5E plenty. I had all the original play-test materials from way back. However, as a 4E convert (the edition that got me back into the game after many years away), I never really got into it. I got into variants such as 13th Age. Then the OGL debacle happenned, and I got on the Black Flag Roleplaying AKA Tales of the Valiant bandwagon.

Actually playing it, though — honestly? It’s been fun. As a player, I get to focus on character, decisions, and story rather than prep. Meet Tarin, my new character – more on him in a future post!

Tarin Nerweller – Image generated by ChatGPT

A Reminder Worth Noting

RPG Taverns has been a reminder for me of why we do this in the first place – shared moments around a table — real or imagined — where stories emerge organically and dice decide fates.

If you want to get into RPGs, or especially if you’ve been DMing for years and feel a little jaded, I can’t recommend strongly enough finding a way to sit down and play.

Sometimes, all it takes is a tavern, a handful of dice, and permission to let someone run the world for a while.

Fun Date Night Ideas in London
Posted in DnD Next, Miscellaneous, Reviews | 1 Comment

St Patrick’s Day Monster

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Tolrendordm

One of the topics I intend to explore more in coming posts is the application of Generative AI capabilities to role-playing preparation. Although human creativity and artistic talent will clearly continue to be the main driving force in Role-playing Games, there is little doubt that Gen AI can play a role in helping the busy GM!

As a bit of fun, for St Patrick’s day, I asked ChatGPT to create a Tales of the Valiant monster inspired by Irish mythology. Here is the (pretty much raw) result. Enjoy throwing this at your players.

Fomorian Balorborn

Titanic Horror of the Cursed Eye

“Tales speak of a cyclopean horror that roams the misted moors, its single, blazing eye scorching the land in its wake. Beware the gaze of the Balorborn, for it carries the ruin of kings and the doom of heroes.”

Description

The Fomorian Balorborn is a twisted remnant of the ancient Fomorians, the dreaded giants of Irish legend. It is said to be the cursed offspring of Balor of the Evil Eye, born from the abyssal tides of the Otherworld. Towering over mortals with its grotesque, asymmetrical form, the Balorborn’s most fearsome trait is its singular, monstrous eye—sealed behind heavy, stone-like lids, only opening to unleash cataclysmic devastation.

Legends say that a Balorborn is a harbinger of ruin, drawn to places where fate teeters on the edge of calamity. It appears in times of war, famine, or magical upheaval, as if feeding on the suffering it inflicts.

Fomorian Balorborn

Huge Aberration, Chaotic Evil

Armor Class: 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 230 (20d12 + 100)
Speed: 40 ft.

STR 24 (+7), DEX 12 (+1), CON 20 (+5), INT 10 (+0), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws: CON +10, WIS +7, CHA +9
Skills: Arcana +6, Perception +8, Intimidation +10
Damage Resistances: Fire, Psychic, Necrotic
Damage Immunities: Radiant, Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Truesight 60 ft., Passive Perception 18
Languages: Common, Giant, Primordial, Sylvan

Legendary Traits

  • Titanic Horror: The Balorborn’s immense size causes structures to tremble as it moves. It ignores difficult terrain and can move through spaces occupied by Medium or smaller creatures without impediment. Any creature within 10 feet when it moves past must make a DC 18 Strength save or be knocked prone.
  • Abyssal Bloodline: Magic cannot put the Balorborn to sleep, and it has advantage on saves against spells and magical effects.
  • Cursed Eye (Recharge 5-6): As a legendary descendant of Balor, the monster’s single eye is a wellspring of devastation. The Balorborn keeps its eye shut unless using this ability.

Actions

Multiattack. The Balorborn makes two melee attacks.

  • Titanic Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 18 Strength save or be flung 20 feet away and knocked prone.
  • Crushing Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (6d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and the ground within 10 feet becomes difficult terrain until cleared.
  • Balor’s Gaze (Recharge 5-6). The Balorborn opens its monstrous eye, releasing a wave of sheer destruction in a 60-ft. cone. Each creature in the area must make a DC 19 Dexterity save:
    • Failure: 72 (12d10) radiant damage and 36 (6d10) fire damage.
    • Success: Half damage.
    • Creatures reduced to 0 hit points by this effect are completely disintegrated unless they are wearing or wielding a magic item.

Legendary Actions

The Fomorian Balorborn can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one action can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent actions at the start of its turn.

  1. Doomed Whispers (Costs 1 Action). The Balorborn murmurs in an ancient tongue, forcing one creature within 60 feet to make a DC 17 Wisdom save or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the save at the end of each turn.
  2. Cyclopean Sweep (Costs 1 Action). The Balorborn swings its massive arm in an arc. All creatures within 10 feet must make a DC 18 Dexterity save or take 22 (4d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage and be knocked back 10 feet.
  3. Cursed Awakening (Costs 2 Actions). If the Balorborn’s Balor’s Gaze ability is recharging, it instantly recharges.

Lair Effects

When encountered in its domain, the Balorborn exerts a powerful aura of otherworldly doom.

  • The land within 1 mile of its lair becomes cursed: crops wither, livestock grows ill, and the night is filled with eerie, disembodied voices.
  • Once per minute, the lair can release a wave of nightmare energy. Each creature within 120 feet that is asleep must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom save or awaken screaming, gaining one level of exhaustion.

Tactics & Roleplaying Notes

The Fomorian Balorborn is a true force of devastation. It will stomp through battlefields, reducing heroes to cinders with its gaze. It is intelligent enough to speak, though cryptic and doomsaying. If forced into conversation, it will speak of fate, ruin, and the futility of resistance. Only an extraordinary act of cunning or persuasion could sway it from destruction.

Plot Hooks:

  • A cursed moorland whispers of the Balorborn’s coming.
  • A kingdom on the verge of war sees omens of a cyclopean horror.
  • A dying seer warns that “the eye has opened once more.”

Posted in RPG Technology, Tales of the Valiant | Leave a comment

Tales of the Valiant: An Introduction

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Tolrendordm

As promised here, I am going to be delving deep into Tales of the Valiant over the coming months and look forward to sharing my excitement for this new entry into the Dungeons & Dragons genre. Let’s get started!

An Interesting Blend of Familiar and Distinct

The introduction to Tales of the Valiant (TotV) Player’s Guide is an intriguing mix of familiar tone and distinct branding. It sets the stage for the game as an “action-oriented roleplaying game” where “heroes shape the world,” emphasizing collaborative storytelling and high-fantasy adventure.

Yet, what is perhaps most notable about this introduction is what it does not say: it makes no direct mention of Dungeons & Dragons 5E or Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), despite being a clear derivative of the 5E system.

A Clear But Unspoken Lineage

Reading through the introduction, anyone familiar with 5E will recognize the DNA of Tales of the Valiant instantly. It explains the fundamental elements of play—Game Masters (GMs), players, character roles, dice mechanics, and collaborative storytelling—in a way that is structurally identical to 5E. Even the basic roll-a-d20, add modifiers, and compare against a DC mechanic remains unchanged.

The book does acknowledge its origins by referencing the Open Gaming License and System Reference Document 5.1 in the credits, but it does not explicitly position itself as a variant of 5E.

This omission is a conscious branding choice. By avoiding direct comparisons, Tales of the Valiant establishes itself as its own game rather than a D&D spinoff. In my opinion, this follows the post-OGL controversy trend, where third-party publishers are seeking independence from WOTC’s influence while still utilizing the framework players are comfortable with.

Key Similarities and Differences with 5E

Mechanics & Dice System

TotV retains the standard d20-based gameplay with advantage/disadvantage mechanics, ability checks, and saving throws. Nothing in the introduction suggests a drastic deviation from core 5E mechanics.

Collaborative Storytelling

Just like 5E, TotV emphasizes player agency, with GMs reacting to player choices and weaving stories dynamically.

The Setting—The Labyrinth

One notable distinction is the introduction of The Labyrinth, described as “infinite worlds linked by twisting corridors of magic.” This presents a multiversal approach similar to Planescape but unique to TotV. The explicit mention of settings like Midgard and the Dreadful Domains suggests Kobold Press is setting up its own “home base” for adventure, distinct from the Forgotten Realms-centric focus of 5E.

As mentioned before, this is one of the innovations of ToV that excites me the most.

Safety Tools

The introduction also highlights safety tools early on, an area that D&D has only recently started to address in official books. It explicitly discusses “lines and veils” and the need for collaborative agreements on potentially uncomfortable topics. This approach shows a clear intent to make the game accessible and enjoyable for all players.

Final Thoughts

The Tales of the Valiant introduction does a great job of setting up the game as its own entity, even though it is unmistakably a 5E-based system. The lack of reference to WOTC or Dungeons & Dragons is an intentional move that aligns with the current wave of independent 5E alternatives.

Is this a strength or a weakness? Well, I think it depends on perspective. As a long-time gamer, it is, of course, obvious to me that the link with 5E exists, and in fact, one of the key attractions is that I should be able to seamlessly use existing material across both systems. However, for a new gamer, this connection would not be obvious, which could be a deterrent to choosing TotV over 5E, which has far greater brand recognition.

Either way, the message is clear: Tales of the Valiant is here to stand on its own—not as a supplement to 5E, but as a full-fledged RPG experience.

Coming Next…

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we will dive into one of the most critical and enjoyable parts of role-playing: the creation of a new adventurer!

Posted in Kobold Press, Tales of the Valiant | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rolling the Digital Dice…

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Tolrendordm

When this blog was last active, prior to 2020, COVID-19 had not yet turned the world upside down. Back then, the Virtual Tabletop (VTT) industry was a growing niche, a useful tool for the tech-savvy TTRPG community, but hardly a mainstream necessity. Fast forward to today, and the industry is nearly unrecognizable. Fueled by the pandemic and the need to connect remotely, VTTs have become an indispensable part of how Dungeon Masters (DMs) and players experience tabletop role-playing games. In this post, I’ll explore the rapid evolution of VTTs, the platforms leading the charge, and what may be next—including topics I plan to delve into more deeply in the coming months.

Before 2020, VTTs were a niche but growing segment of the TTRPG community. Established platforms like Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds catered to gamers looking to enhance their online sessions. Key features included 2D maps, digital dice rollers, and basic character sheet management, but adoption was limited compared to traditional in-person gaming. Other platforms like Tabletop Simulator on Steam provided physics-based sandboxes for a variety of tabletop games, but their versatility was often seen as overkill for standard TTRPG campaigns.

The sudden halt to in-person gaming in early 2020, driven by lockdowns and social distancing measures, forced TTRPG enthusiasts to seek digital alternatives. VTT platforms saw unprecedented growth as they became the default method for playing. Roll20, for example, reported over 10 million registered users by 2023, doubling its user base within three years. Similarly, Fantasy Grounds and newcomers like Foundry Virtual Tabletop and Owlbear Rodeo experienced significant spikes in adoption.

The Current VTT Landscape

There’s no going back! The VTT market has exploded, and gamers are spoilt for choice. In fact, for many gamers who would never have used a virtual tabletop prior to the pandemic, this has now become their preferred method of gaming, even if they are playing in-person. Some of the reasons for their increased popularity include:

  • Post-Covid Culture: COVID-19 fundamentally reshaped the perception of remote collaboration, both in professional and gaming spaces. (Microsoft Teams and Zoom, anyone…), and this has permeated the world of gaming as well.
  • Increased Accessibility: Many platforms, like Roll20 and Owlbear Rodeo, offered browser-based solutions requiring no downloads, reducing technical barriers to entry.
  • Content Expansion: VTTs have hugely expanded their available content, both through community-generated resources and strong support from third-party publishers. Even Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has entered the space, despite their previous missteps.
  • Technological Advancements: Platforms like Foundry VTT and Alchemy pushed the boundaries with advanced APIs, immersive storytelling features, and seamless integration with third-party tools.

The list below represents a snapshot of the key platforms on the market:

  1. Roll20
    • Browser-based with robust 2D mapping and automation tools.
    • Supports multiple systems, including D&D, Pathfinder, and Call of Cthulhu
    • Over 10 million users, making it the largest VTT by market share.
    • Official Site
  2. Foundry Virtual Tabletop
    • Self-hosted with extensive API capabilities and community modules.
    • Supports hundreds of systems and custom content.
    • Popular for its flexibility and automation capabilities.
    • Official Site
  3. Fantasy Grounds
    • Desktop application with advanced automation and official content integrations.
    • Strong focus on rule enforcement for systems like D&D and Savage Worlds.
    • Longstanding reputation among dedicated gamers.
    • Official Site
  4. Owlbear Rodeo
    • Lightweight, browser-based, and easy to use.
    • Focuses on simplicity with minimal automation or rule integration.
    • Ideal for casual gamers and on-the-fly sessions.
    • Official Site
  5. Alchemy Virtual Tabletop
    • Emphasizes immersive storytelling with high-quality audiovisual features.
    • Strong partnerships with publishers like Kobold Press.
    • Growing user base among indie TTRPG fans.
    • Official Site
  6. D&D Beyond Maps / Project Sigil (WotC)
    • Integrates tightly with D&D Beyond’s ecosystem.
    • “Maps” provides a 2D VTT, while “Project Sigil” offers Unreal Engine-powered 3D environments.
    • Still in beta but poised to compete with leading platforms.
    • Official Site
  7. Shard Tabletop
    • Tailored for D&D 5E with built-in automation and a streamlined UI.
    • Supports limited import functionality but excels in curated experiences.
    • Official Site

Over the next few months, I’ll be delving into each of these platforms in greater detail, evaluating their functionality from the perspective of running a published adventure. To put them to the test, I’ll be using Shards of the Spellforge by Kobold Press (Check it out here). Each VTT has its strengths and weaknesses, and I’m eager to explore which one provides the best experience for preparing and running a rich, engaging adventure. Stay tuned as I break down the features, usability, and overall effectiveness of each platform!

Posted in RPG Technology | Tagged | Leave a comment